Life for many is fraught with uncertainties and as such one of the main things that generate stability within our lives is the feeling of acceptance. However, I have to be honest and say that I am not sure I understand the correlation between acceptance and success. Not to mention, by what tools or standards is this measureable? Is there an established scientific method or statistical measurement one can use?
Feeling accepted is fitting in and fitting in is achieved through creating a comfortable learning environment. Easy access to information by making yourself approachable as an instructor.
Guidance as well as motivation should not be forgotten.
This motivates the students who are skeptical about their future/new careers and encourages and gives them confidence for success.
Students must feel accepted and safe within the class for them to share ideas, opinions and ask questions - all integral parts of the learning experience. Sometimes the way I explain a concept may not hit home with a student. If other students can put the concept into their own words, or ask a question about what just I said, it can turn into an "Aha!" moment for the one who didn't understand. If students feel accepted, they will also ask for help if they need it.
Hi Jacqueline,
I really appreciate and understand your comments about employee entitlement. They can't seem to understand that life is based around competition. We compete for throughout out our lives. To set ourselves apart we need to meet those deadlines and complete those projects. When we do we get the promotions and career advancements. Many students miss that part of the career development process. I spend a class session on personal branding. This session is devoted to how you can set yourself apart from every other applicant and employer. It involves effort and motivation but the returns are great. I have employers come in during this session to talk about what they are looking for and why branding of one's self is so important for success.
Gary
In my communications classes, an episode of "Kitchen Nightmares" can state that point quite well. :) For my writing classes, its a bit more difficult to find a way to bring someone in from the field that is also going to be able to speak from a writing perspective (ahhh the joys of teaching General Ed at a career school haha)
From what I'm hearing from my friends in the HR field, the workers they're getting have the same attitudes of entitlement- accusing bosses of being "unfair" when they assign projects or hold to deadlines.
This is one of the places where we see the "Everybody Wins" mentality can be taken too far and is actually hurting our students in the long run.
Hi Tami,
You raise a good question about motivating younger students. One of the ways I have tried with success is to form learner groups with a mix of students in each group. I assign projects and the groups interact with each other, share ideas and develop respect for each other as they strive to find the solution to the problem. Also, I use individual research projects and panel presentations to help the younger students get invested in the course content.
Gary
I feel students of all ages need to feel accepted, it just varies by age. In my classroom experience I would have to agree with the 18-20 year olds & adult learners examples in module one. The younger group seems to be more driven to what’s happening right now in life and interaction with their peers. The adult learners seem to be goal driven & very in tuned with what they would like to accomplish. Adult learners also appear to be motivated by clear guidelines, getting assistants when needed and grading to be done timely. The younger group seems to want to do well but wants to make sure they have a friend to sit by in class also.
How do you get the younger group to be motivated to learn the class content with as much enthusiasm as sitting next to their friends?
Hi Jacqueline,
What a great class environment you have. It sounds like it is relaxed fun and on target. Your students know you will support them, that you have high standards and they can benefit from your life experiences. This presents a global approach to teaching that is both effective and efficient.
Gary
Hi Jacqueline,
This is a very common problem nationwide. Almost every week I encounter instructors telling me that they have many students that feel they are entitled to success in the classroom without working for it.
One thing that has helped a lot with this attitude is having people come in from the field and talk to the students. They lay it on the line and tell it like it is. This really gets the attention of most of the students. These students see they can have a future that involves success but they are going to have to work for it. There are some that just don't get it or don't want to work for it. In return for this lack of effort they don't make it. We need to continue trying to work with them but in the end it is up to them.
Gary
Hi Jeff,
You make a very good point about belonging and acceptance. This is very important in classes where you are trying to establish a learning community. Inclusion is a great motivator.
Gary
Students will often be under some form of stress, whether from being a new student or being a non-traditional leaner. Feeling accepted will help to eliminate this stress and give the student a greater sense of success. Students who feel a sense of success will be more likely to participate and finish the class strong.
That's true. I had a student yesterday ball up his responses as we were going over an exercise, insisting he hadn't done it right. "Just give it a shot, G---, let's see what you did with it." Turns out his was one of the best in the class!
I laugh with my classes a lot, so this helps tremendously in creating an environment where we can try things in different ways.
I also let them know that if we're truly learning new things, we're clearing out new pathways in our brains~ this means it'll often feel like we're slogging through mud, or walking in a fog. I let them know over and over again, if they feel like that, they're probably doing it right! :) Letting them know its okay to feel a bit lost helps tremendously.
I've noticed that too, and find it troubling. There seems to be this attitude of entitlement- no one wants to work outside of class. I used to assume that they were juggling the same level of responsibility I did when I was doing my BA as a single mom- but after I received some essays about how stressful it was to balance work, school, and "hanging out with your friends a couple of hours a day" I found myself feeling resentful. A couple hours A DAY?
If feeling accepted means they don't have to do any work or have their social life impinged upon in any way, how do we as instructors reconcile that?
When a person is accepted by a person or group of people they feel safe. A reason people accept others is they generally have something in common say music. When a person feels safe within their group, they are more willing to "go out on a limb" without feeling afaid to fail.
Looking at the reverse, I've found that students who don't "fit in" tend to do their own thing, often at a detriment to their performance. Their attendance is poor, their projects sub-par. They don't discuss projects with others and often do things incorrectly. Fitting in with others offers opportunities for peer feedback. Fitting in, as one of Maslow's needs, fosters a better learning environment in general as encourages enthusiasm for actually attending and performing well in front of their peers.
Whenever a person feels accepted in a situation they are more open to what is presented. This is always the goal in my class. I also believe that just because a student may feel accepted one day does not mean they feel that way everyday. You need to continuously work on that with many student
The student with low self confidence is one of our greatest challenges in any course. Instructors need to teach the student how to build this confidence and overcome their own negativity. Let the student know you believe in them and the progress that the student makes. Guide the student in making decisions giving some support as the student becomes more confident in what they can do.
Hi Juan,
This is a good way to get the students settled into the course and ready to learn. Students need to feel welcome and comfortable in the class if they are going to be ready to learn.
Gary
Hi Philippe,
Right you are. This is so important for students and helps to get the class off to a good start when everyone feels they have a place in the class.
Gary
If students feel accepted they participate in the learning process going on in the classroom. They feel they are a part of the learning process and contribute more readily
